Arsenal legend Ian Wright has claimed that the £100m or so that the Gunners paid West Ham for Declan Rice was “embarrassing”.
The England international has shone since joining Arsenal, arguably showing that they got him for a pretty reasonable price.
Rice really stepped up for Arsenal with a memorable performance in the midweek win over Real Madrid, scoring two sublime free-kicks in a 3-0 victory.
Wright was full of praise for Rice on the latest episode of the Overlap, commenting on how former West Ham manager David Moyes said he felt they should’ve got more like £150m for Rice.
See below as Wright now claims £100m actually looks kind of embarrassing…
"He has it in his locker, he's got great technique!" ?
The team reviews Declan Rice's 10/10 performance against Real Madrid! ?? pic.twitter.com/Y8lUIL0bxi
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) April 10, 2025
Arsenal fans will be delighted with the impact Rice has had, with the 26-year-old showing that he’s clearly one of the finest midfield players in the world on his day.
What pundits are saying about Arsenal star Declan Rice
Wright praised Rice and the deal Arsenal got for him, while his fellow pundit Roy Keane discussed how far he can go in terms of becoming one of the greats.
Rice is not normally much of a goal-scorer, but Keane says if the former Hammers star can add that to his game then he could end up being in that conversation.
Rice showed his superb ability from long range with his goals against Real Madrid, and AFC supporters will no doubt be keen to see if he can do that more often.
It’s not often we talk about £100m players looking like a bargain, but that really seems to be the case with Rice.
West Ham fans will surely be questioning now if their club could have held out for more money for him, though they arguably still did pretty well out of the deal considering that he’d come to the final year of his contract at the London Stadium.
